The Weinstein Company

Film students everywhere bow down to director Paul Thomas Anderson. The guy behind "The Master," "Boogie Nights," and "There Will Be Blood" has claimed his place as one of the most iconic American directors working today, constantly churning out critically beloved darlings that blow the socks off both movie buffs and Academy voters.

And much like Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, Anderson has his own clearly developed visual aesthetic, one that truly separates him from his peers.

For that, you can thank the steadicam shot. BFI has curated a video essay that "examines one signature tracking shot from each of Anderson’s five previous features, showing how each [epitomizes] his cinematography at each point, from the flashiness of his earlier films to a more subtle approach that [favors] composition over movement."

So cool it with the Dirk Diggler jokes already and pay homage to the man behind the lens (and his cinematographic style of choice).

Watch the video here, and check out a diagrammed illustration of one of "Boogie Nights"' famous steadicam shots below.

The Weinstein Company

This week: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams all earned Oscar nominations for their performances in the period drama "The Master," writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's thinly disguised commentary on Scientology.

Also new this week is the critically acclaimed surreal art film "Holy Motors" and the surfing movie "Chasing Mavericks" starring Gerard Butler and Jonny Weston.

'The Master'

The Weinstein Company

Box Office: $16 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% Fresh
Storyline: Paul Thomas Anderson's portrait of drifters and lost souls in post-World War II America follows a Naval vet (Joaquin Phoenix) who arrives home from war uncertain about his future until he is taken in by "the Cause" and its charismatic leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Amy Adams and Laura Dern also star.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain "Back Beyond," an unconventional collection of deleted scenes set to music by Jonny Greenwood; eight minutes of behind-the-scenes footage; and John Huston's 1946 documentary "Let There Be Light" about the psychiatric treatment of WWII veterans.
We Say: The best aspect about "The Master" is the return to form of Phoenix who, after announcing that he was retiring from acting, took a detour as a rapper as part of a stunt for the faux documentary, "I'm Still Here." Phoenix is the most engaging part of a largely inert, talky movie, and his fits of frustration while trying to process Hoffman's treatment methods are unforgettable -- and for some viewers will mirror their frustration with Anderson's 144-minute think piece. Phoenix, Hoffman and Adams were nominated for Oscars for their performances.

'Holy Motors'

Indomina

Box Office: $641,100
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Fresh
Storyline: Follow Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) on his limousine journey through the streets of Paris as he transforms into multiple characters for a serious of perplexing "appointments" in this surreal drama by director Léos Carax that combines elements of film noir, musicals, monster movies and crime thrillers. Eva Mendes and Kylie Minogue also star in this film that features new music by Minogue as well.
Extras!: Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain a making-of featurette and an interview with Minogue.
We Say: When you load this fever dream into your player, dismiss any and all expectations for a story that makes literal sense or is in any way coherent. This is weird for weirdness' sake and makes most of David Lynch's oeuvre seem straightforward by comparison. It's never really clear if Lavant is playing an actor or someone traveling through parallel dimensions (Lavant played one of the characters, Mr. Merde, in the 2008 film "Tokyo!"), but some of the otherworldly segments featuring talking cars and a dance number with illuminated costumes are strangely beautiful.

'Chasing Mavericks'

20th Century Fox

Box Office: $6 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% Rotten
Storyline: This biographical film stars Jonny Weston as real-life surfer Jay Moriarty and chronicles his quest to conquer the big Mavericks wave in Northern California. Gerard Butler plays local surfing legend Frosty Hesson, who becomes Jay's mentor and teaches him how to survive. Along the way, the two develop a unique friendship that goes beyond surfing.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain an audio commentary and deleted scenes.
We Say: "Chasing Mavericks" was made with the help of some of the biggest names in the surfing world and features some of the most impressive real wave footage ever caught on film, but the PG-rated movie is so gentle and earnest that it wipes out in terms of both drama and excitement.

Also New This Week:

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" Extended Edition
"Silent Hill: Revelation" Blu-ray 3D
"The Hudsucker Proxy" Blu-ray
"Girls Against Boys"

If there was one trend in the movies of 2012, it was the ever-present handjob. Yup, the only HJ had more screen time in 2012 than Jessica Chastain, and that's saying something.

Funny or Die didn't let the trend die quietly, editing last night's Oscars to make it look like Sandra Bullock gave out an award that would make even Seth MacFarlane blush: Best Handjob in a Leading Role. And, oh, there were many! Between "The Master," "On the Road," and "Hyde Park on Hudson" (wait, how did we miss that?), 2012 was the year Oscar got, er, "hands on." (More like "The Master-bater," eh?)

It's good to know Kristen Stewart's got options, though, now that the "Twilight" franchise has come to a close. Give the gal a hand! (Or, actually, vice versa.)

We apologize in advance if these re-imaginings by our own Dustin Glick make for nightmare fodder. Sometimes looking at something in a new light isn't exactly pretty.

'Django Unchained'

'Argo'

'Les Miserables'

'Amour'

'Zero Dark Thirty'

'The Master'

'Lincoln'

'The Impossible'

'Silver Linings Playbook'

'Life of Pi'

Warner Bros.

Updated Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Okay folks, it's crunch time. Have you submitted your Oscar ballot yet? There's big money on the line (at least a hundy we hope, right?).

As we do every year on NextMovie, we're handicapping the Oscar races to give you a leg up on your friends, family and coworkers when entering your high-stakes pool, which as we all know is as much about the glory as the greenbacks (freaking Al from finance still hasn't gotten that smirk off of his face for calling Cotillard over Christie in 2008; get over yourself, Al).

Our usual disclaimers: We do not condone gambling, unless you're in Vegas or on a reservation. Good luck!

(And for  a trusty second opinion, check out Joe Reid's Oscar predictions on Film.com.)

Best Picture

Warner Bros.

Here's what's crazy: The snubbing of Ben Affleck in the Best Director category (more on that below) actually made this category a lot more interesting than it would have been. It was starting to look like "Lincoln" was the great emanci-winner here, as off the bat it was the horsey to beat with a leading 12 nominations overall.

But the Academy's abstention from Affleck has clearly energized "Argo" supporters, as we've seen with HUGE wins by "Argo" at every major award function since, with the political thriller taking home the top prize at the Golden Globes, PGAs, DGAs, SAGs AND Critics Choice Awards.

Suddenly its passionate base could more than give Spielberg et al a run for their five-dollar bills (great marketing, btw), but secure it frontrunner status. Is Ben Affleck the new Bruce Beresford (the last director not nominated to see his film win Best Picture, in 1990 for "Driving Miss Daisy")?. I'll let y'all debate that. But yep, "Argo" has officially moved into smart money territory.

Smart Money: "Argo"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Lincoln"
Dark Horse: "Silver Linings Playbook"

Also Check Out: Best Picture Category Breakdown on Film.com

Best Director

Disney

Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow were left off the list for what's surely no good, defensible reason, and yep, the Academy looks like out-of-touch buffoons with this one (but if you think I'm pissed, you should hear Ed Lover). Tom Hooper and Quentin Tarantino would've liked to have been invited, too, you guys.

But let's look at the bright side: Ben and Biggie's snubs have made this category that much easier to predict! Look for Spielberg to take home his third directing Oscar (he also won for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List"). But watch it get super awkward if he forgets to thank Abe.

Smart Money: Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Dark Horse: Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"

Also Check Out: Best Director Category Breakdown on Film.com

Best Actor

Disney

Daniel Day-Lewis may not just be the greatest actor alive, he may be the greatest actor EVER. He may be the oldest actor alive, too; his stunning portrayal of the nation's 16th prez is so convincing you may come to believe he spent actual time in the company of Mr. Lincoln himself  (Second greatest portrayal of Lincoln ever: A gentleman named Robert V. Barron in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.") This is as easy as Oscar prognosticating gets.

Smart Money: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Don't Be Surprised By: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Dark Horse: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"

Also Check Out: Best Actor Category Breakdown on Film.com

Best Actress

The Weinstein Co.

This race, on the other hand, is as close as they come. You have two actresses on similarly skyrocketing career paths, turning everything they touch into gold (just see the box office receipts for "Mama"), in Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence.

I'll give the slight edge to Lawrence, mainly because the stock of "Silver Linings" seems to be rising (it's the only movie to score nominations in all four acting categories since 1981's "Reds," thanks no doubt to the politicking of Harvey Weinstein), while despite the money-making ways of "Zero Dark," it has its detractors. People whispered that Lawrence's playful "I Beat Meryl Streep!" boast at the Globes could affect her chances, and if that's the case, well, people are lamer than you thought.

Smart Money: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Don't Be Surprised By: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Dark Horse: Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

Also Check Out: Best Actress Category Breakdown on Film.com

Best Supporting Actor

Have you heard?! All five dudes in this category are previous Oscar winners (and a sixth, Javier Bardem, was robbed blind). This, of course, may confuse Oscar voters: If they've all won, who to recognize on the basis of their whole careers, rather than just these singular performances?

The tide seemed to be turning in favor of Bobby De Niro, who's gone the longest without winning one of those gold, bald statues (his last win was for 1981's "Raging Bull"). His admittedly surprising work in "Silver Linings" seems to be reminding people that this veteran thesp can actually act, not just spoof himself in comedies or collect paychecks for "Righteous Kill."

But that grizzled vet Tommy Lee, who won in '94 for "The Fugitive" and who puts on his very best sad face in "Lincoln," looks like he's back on top after a big win at the SAGs.

Smart Money: Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Don't Be Surprised By: Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Dark Horse: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Darker Horse: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
(While We're Doing This, No Shot: Alan Arkin, "Argo")

Best Supporting Actress

Universal

Have you heard?! Anne Hathaway chopped off her hair and dropped a ton of weight for "Les Mis," reportedly slimming down from around 75 pounds to 50. (Those are just estimated reports.) She also only has about 15 minutes of screen time, but you'd have to be a macho man like Russell Crowe (in any movie other than "Les Mis") not to get a little choked up during her performance of "I Dreamed a Dream."

Which was performed live, in case you hadn't heard.

Smart Money: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Don't Be Surprised By: Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Dark Horse: Amy Adams, "The Master"

Best Original Screenplay

This one's a toss-up, most likely between "Django Unchained" and "Zero Dark Thirty." The only movie that doesn't stand a chance is "Flight." Sorry, "Flight."

Smart Money: No such thing here, but we'll go with "Zero Dark Thirty"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Django Unchained"
Dark Horse: "Amour"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Lincoln" scribe Tony Kushner has gotten more press than any other writer this year, which should count for something (see also: Diablo Cody, "Juno"). And did you hear his first draft of the script was 8,000 pages long? Still, "Argo" has plenty of momentum.

Smart Money: "Lincoln"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Argo"

Best Animated Feature

2012 was the year Disney and Pixar officially switched brains. It's evident here when you look at the fact that "Wreck-It Ralph" has a better shot at winning than "Brave." But "Frankenweenie," with all of its slick homages to classic Hollywood, could be a serious challenger here.

Smart Money: "Wreck-It Ralph"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Frankenweenie"
Dark Horse: "Brave"

Best Foreign Film

Maybe even easier to call than Daniel Day-Lewis's impending victory.

Smart Money: "Amour"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Amour"
Dark Horse: "Amour"

Best Documentary

It's very, very rare that a non-depressing/heavy film wins Best Doc (last year's aptly titled "Undefeated" among the exceptions). This could be another year. Otherwise, look for "How to Survive a Plague."

Smart Money: "Searching for Sugar Man"
Don't Be Surprised By: "How to Survive a Plague"
Dark Horse: "The Gatekeepers"

Best Production Design

Smart Money: "Les Miserables"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Anna Karenina"
Dark Horse: "Life of Pi" OR "Lincoln"

Best Cinematography

Smart Money: "Life of Pi"
Dark Horse: "Skyfall"

Best Costume Design

Smart Money: "Anna Karenina"
Dark Horse: "Les Miserables"

Best Editing

Smart Money: "Argo"
Dark Horse: "Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Makeup

Smart Money: "The Hobbit"
Dark Horse: "Les Miserables"

Best Score

Smart Money: "Life of Pi"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Lincoln"

Best Song

Smart Money: "Skyfall," "Skyfall"
Dark Horse: "Suddenly," "Les Mis"

Best Sound Editing

Smart Money: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Argo"
Dark Horse: "Skyfall"

Best Sound Mixing

Smart Money: "Les Miserables"
Dark Horse: "Skyfall"

Best Visual Effects

Smart Money: "Life of Pi"

Best Animated Short

Smart Money: "Paperman"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Adam and Dog"
Dark Horse: "Head Over Heels"

Best Documentary Short

Smart Money: "Open Heart"
Don't Be Surprised By: "Inocente"
Dark Horse: "Kings Point"

Best Live Action Short

Smart Money: "Curfew"
Dark Horse: "Asad" or "Death of a Shadow"

Also Check Out: More on the Shorts Categories from Film.com

See more of NextMovie executive editor Kevin Polowy's picks on Gold Derby or follow him on Twitter.

]]> http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/oscar-predictions-2013/feed/ 0 http://www.nextmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/argo-poster-250.jpg http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/2013-oscar-movies-original-cast/ http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/2013-oscar-movies-original-cast/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:00:16 +0000 NextMovie Staff http://www.nextmovie.com/?p=164430 Liam Neeson in "Lincoln"? Rooney Mara in "Zero Dark Thirty"? Marky Mark and Catwoman in "Silver Linings Playbook"?

It's fun to imagine what a movie might have been like if it had starred the actors who were originally supposed to ... well, star in it. Final casting usually ends up working out for the best, but there's nothing wrong with a little cinematic game of "What If?" Below are some visual aids in picturing what would've made for a very, very different Oscar season this year.

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You may remember (fondly, of course) our dog-themed poster spoofs of last year's Oscar nominees. We're expanding our horizons this year for some cross-species variations on "Argo," "Les Miserables," "Zero Dark Thirty" and the six other films vying for the golden Best Picture statue that, until now, featured mostly two-legged cast members. (There's a distinct lack of an attention-stealing Uggie this year, isn't there?)

Check out what's playing below, courtesy of Old Red Jalopy. Once again, most of them look even more interesting than their homo sapien-driven counterparts.

Bonus ('The Master' wasn't nominated, but we couldn't resist.)

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But what about those potential nominees and angles that aren't quite so obvious? With the help of our friend Old Red Jalopy, we've unearthed ten, shall we say, "unorthodox" Oscar campaign posters you might have missed.

Weinstein Company

The nominations for the 2013 Golden Globes were announced earlier today and in the dramatic categories it was "Lincoln" and "Django Unchained" leading the way, while the comedy/musical side of things was dominated by "Les Misérables" and "Silver Linings Playbook."

Joining "Lincoln" and "Django" in the race for Best Motion Picture Drama are "Argo," "Life of Pi" and "Zero Dark Thirty." "Les Misérables" and "Silver Linings Playbook," meanwhile, will be competing against "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "Moonrise Kingdom" for Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

For a full rundown of this year's nominees, including all the acting categories, head to Film.com.

Tired of those boring-ass Photoshopped floating head jobs that flaccid studio marketing departments call posters? So are we, which is why we've singled out the most distinguished, eye-catching promotional pieces to come out this year.

Taking the old-fashioned hand-painted approach always stands out, but sometimes all it takes is using photography in an interesting, innovative way to get some really challenging stories across in a single image.

Here are the absolute best general release or alternate posters of 2012.

Get more Best of 2012 here.

Getty Images

Here's a fact: Joaquin Phoenix's performance as a disturbed WWII vet in "The Master" is one for the books, a truly startling, revelatory thing of beauty, and it deserves an Oscar. It has to be, otherwise people wouldn't be getting their panties in a bunch over his quote in Interview Magazine last month when he said the Academy Awards were "total, utter bulls**t, and I don't want to be a part of it."

One person in particular is starting to wake up to this fact, and that is Phoenix himself, who, in a new interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, has done a complete 180 (okay, maybe like a 112-degree turn) where he says that he and Oscars might be cool after all.

"I wouldn't have the career that I have if it weren't for the Oscars," repented two-time nominee Phoenix. "I haven't been in a lot of movies that have made a lot of money … And getting nominated for a movie has probably helped my career tremendously. But in some ways it's the antithesis of what you want to be as an actor. You're always trying to free yourself of the artifice, which is really difficult. Especially when you suck, like me.''

Okay then. That may sound like he's still a bit ambivalent about the whole thing, but it's a far cry from calling the annual movie awards pageant "the worst-tasting carrot I've ever tasted in my whole life" and "the stupidest thing in the whole world."

Whatever kind of meditation he's done or colonic he's gotten to get his head screwed on straight again, it remains to be seen if he would actually be brave enough to show his face at the ceremony should he get nominated, and he most likely will.

''It's not like I f***ing hate the Oscars," he insists. "It doesn't occupy my time to where I can build up hate. What I was reacting to was sometimes the reverence that we have about these things. I don't want to revere it.''

Also Check Out: Other Stuff Joaquin Phoenix Doesn't Revere

Getty Images

Everyone needs their "Happy Song." For Paul Thomas Anderson, his joy comes from Carly Rae Jepsen.

"The Master" filmmaker admitted his love for "Call Me Maybe" while speaking with an Australian interviewer. "That is the song that I need to hear to make me happy again," he said. "That song makes me so happy when I hear it."

Hmm ... does Aimee Mann know that Anderson is cheating on her?

We agree with Vulture in that we're now picturing an alternate ending to "The Master" in which Philip Seymour Hoffman serenades Joqauin Phoenix with a little Carly Rae rather than "Slow Boat to China." Maybe also an added scene where Hoffman gets hot and bothered as Phoenix mows the lawn?

You can listen to the complete interview on Movie City News. And you can watch the video for "Call Me Maybe" below. We'll certainly never watch it the same way again.

Getty Images

Just when the world was this close to forgetting all about his little too-cool-for-film-school "I'm Still Here" play, courtesy of one stellar performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," Joaquin Phoenix has gone and done it again.

The two-time Academy Award nominee (for "Gladiator" and "Walk the Line") has given his proverbial middle finger to Oscar and declared in advance that he's not interested in what was sure to be a locked nomination for supporting actor in this year's race, thank you very much.

Phoenix unleashed his wild opinions of the awards season hooplah in a new interview by Elvis Mitchell for Interview Magazine.

"I think it's bulls**t," he said of his potential candidacy for the big award. "I think it's total, utter bulls**t, and I don't want to be a part of it. I don't believe in it. It's a carrot, but it's the worst-tasting carrot I've ever tasted in my whole life. I don't want this carrot. It's totally subjective. Pitting people against each other ... It's the stupidest thing in the whole world."

Phoenix's last experience as an Oscar nominee, he explained, is what really turned him off.

Also Check Out: Before They Were Famous: Joaquin Phoenix on 'The Adventures of Superboy'

"It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of my life when 'Walk the Line' was going through all the awards stuff and all that," said Joaquin Phoenix. "I never want to have that experience again. I don't know how to explain it—and it's not like I'm in this place where I think I'm just above it—but I just don't ever want to get comfortable with that part of things."

Supposing he does get a nomination and wins, would he go so far as to pull a Marlon Brando?

Surely director P.T. Anderson (five-time nominee) and co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman (Oscar winner and three-time nominee) are now hoping Phoenix's haughty snub doesn't hurt their own chances at some well-deserved recognition right about now.

TriStar Pictures

We've bid farewell to the Great White North for another year — yup, the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival is officially over. In years past, Oscar winners like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech" made their international debuts at TIFF. With that in mind, we took in every screening our schedules allowed, looking for the Next Big Thing of this year.

We narrowed the Best of Fest list to 15; They may not be the Oscar nominees of 2013 — though we'd bet cash money some of them are — but they'll be among the best movies you'll see for yourself this year. -- By Kevin Polowy and Brooke Tarnoff

'Antiviral'

IFC

Brandon Cronenberg's name looks familiar for a reason; he's the son of "Cosmopolis" director David Cronenberg. And while the imagery in his first feature-length film evokes memories of his dad's work — there are echoes of "Videodrome" and "Naked Lunch" in "Antiviral" — the younger Cronenberg has created something unarguably unique. A vision of a celebrity-obsessed future wherein fans pay to be infected with stars' illnesses turns into a suspenseful race to save lives when the virus industry proves potentially fatal. The whole thing seems a fantastically implausible testament to Cronenberg's imagination. Then again, TMZ already exists. — Brooke Tarnoff

'Argo'

Warner Bros.

In case you weren't convinced by "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town," Ben Affleck offers further proof that he's a full-on filmmaking force to be reckoned with; his third directorial effort, "Argo," is another winner, and we all know three makes a trend. This time, Affleck headlines the film as well, playing a real-life CIA operative who attempts to pull off a bold rescue mission during the Iranian hostage crisis by posing as a Canadian movie producer scouting locations. It's a true story, one almost too unbelievable to believe, and it makes for stirring and thrilling entertainment. Look for this one to be an awards heavyweight. —Kevin Polowy

'Cloud Atlas'

Warner Bros.

One of the festival's most anticipated premieres, "Cloud Atlas" also became Toronto's most hotly debated films. An ambitious collaboration between the Wachowskis ("The Matrix" trilogy) and Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") and based on the bestseller by David Mitchell, this nearly three-hour epic that spans centuries is a gorgeous-looking spectacle to behold, even if its storytelling doesn't always work and fizzles out a bit in the third act (it also doesn't help the distant future's simplified dialect is nearly indecipherable). It's still must-see moviemaking, if only to see what thesps like Halle Berry and Tom Hanks look like as six or seven different characters.  — KP

Also Check Out: Reviews of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival Movies

'Disconnect'

LD Entertainment

On one hand, "Disconnect" is a reminder to get offline and make real connections with real people — on the other, it's a reminder to race home, change all of your passwords and buy an industrial-sized document shredder. In his first feature film, director Henry Alex Rubin ("Murderball") braids together three stories: a journalist investigating underage online sex shows, a shy kid tormented by cyberbullies and a grieving couple ruined by identity theft. The message of the film could default easily to "internet bad," but never does, and the nuance and complexity of each story makes for a powerful whole. Jason Bateman in a rare but effective dramatic role and Jonah Bobo knocking it out of the park as Bateman's son are just the icing on the cake. — BT

'Great Expectations'

Out-source Media

Dickens may have been the bane of your high school existence, but "Great Expectations" is clearly beloved by many, if the number of adaptations is any indication (15, give or take). This is far and away the best, helmed by "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" director Mike Newell, and its trio of "Potter" alum (Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Robbie Coltrane) is just one of its charms. Stars Jeremy Irvine and Holliday Grainger bring sexy back to the 19th century, and Bonham Carter was clearly born to play Miss Havisham. — BT

'Hyde Park on Hudson'

Focus

It's Bill Murray's first lead role since 2005's "Broken Flowers." That's reason alone to celebrate, if you ask us. The fact that he goes all in as FDR, one of America's most beloved presidents? Reason to celebrate and steal a golf cart. Framed as a romantic drama about FDR's fling with a distant cousin played by Laura Linney (turns out FDR wasn't a playa but just crushed a lot), this slow but intriguing drama is really about the prez's relationship with the stuttering King George VI in the lead-up to WWII. It may also be the most important hot dog story ever told. — KP

'The Iceman'

Millennium

Thank you, film industry, for continuing to give Michael Shannon ("Take Shelter") lead roles. This time, the husky character actor plays Richard Kuklinski, a contract killer for the mob known as The Iceman (and to his bosses, simply "Pollack") for his habit of freezing his victim's bodies, but also his cold, remorseless persona. The only thing Kuklinski cares about is his family (including the ageless Winona Ryder), so despite his cold-bloodedness, we can still somehow relate to the guy in a Tony Soprano sort of way. The film scores points for not just packing a walloping punch, but for returning Ray Liotta to the wise guy genre, and featuring David Schwimmer and a nearly unrecognizable Chris Evans as killers. — KP

Also Check Out: Stars Looking Hot at the Toronto International Film Festival

'Imogene'

Lionsgate

Anyone rooting for Kristen Wiig to keep on it killing it post-"SNL"/"Bridemaids" will be glad to hear she brings the thunder in this indie that sounds like a drama (once-promising NYC playwright suffers a breakdown after she's dumped by her boyfriend) but delivers laughs like a comedy (fine, it's a dramedy). Annette Bening, Ray Liotta, "Glee"'s Darren Criss all get assists for their sublime supporting roles, but it's Wiig – whose lovable loser stock is starting to rival Will Ferrell and Steve Carell – who makes this one recommended. Once we can master pronouncing it, anyway. — KP

'The Impossible'

Summit

Spoiler alert: You will cry while watching this movie. Unless you're under 10 — and if you are, sit this one out — you'll never forget the tsunami that devastated the populations of 14 Asian and African countries in 2004; watching the events unfold onscreen, in minute detail, pours salt water in a not-yet-healed emotional wound. The title "The Impossible" refers to the chance of surviving such a powerful disaster — but make no mistake. The plot revolves around survivors, but this story won't shield you from the heart-stopping reality of ruin. It's an unflinching but beautiful examination of loss, courage and perseverance. And Naomi Watts looks ghastly— that should get the Academy's attention. — BT

'Looper'

TriStar

It's an astonishing movie on an astonishing number of levels: the alternately compassionate and coolly brutal performances by Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis, the uncanny (and unexpected) physical similarity between the two, a time travel logic that treats sci-fi with real respect and, better yet, an understanding of when to stop explaining it. You'll never have the attention span to soak in all the small details that fill out writer/director Rian Johnson's take on the far and farther future; he's done a bang-up job of world-building. The only disappointment is that we'll only see one movie set there. — BT

'The Master'

The Weinstein Company

Paul Thomas Anderson's highly anticipated follow-up to "There Will Be Blood" that may or may not be based on L. Ron Hubbard and the early days of Scientology (anyone who's ever naively agreed to a "free stress test" will probably say yes) is gorgeously shot, crafty and meditative, even if it doesn't quite live up to expectations. It just never hits a "wow" moment; in other words, there's no milkshake drinking here. That said, you're going to want to see it for the performances, namely Philip Seymour Hoffman (you've never seen him so red-faced) as "master" theologian Lanaster Dodd, and Amy Adams as his quietly cunning wife, Peggy. — KP

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

Summit

With "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" author Stephen Chbosky as screenwriter and director, this is possibly the most faithful adaptation of all time. And since "Perks" ranks high among the most touching comings-of-age ever put on paper, by the transitive property, the movie version must be something truly special. And it is. For a story about a teenage boy discovering sex, drugs and "Rocky Horror," it's remarkably sensitive, and Logan Lerman was a solid choice for the lead role. However, it's Ezra Miller's Manic Pixie Dream Boy supporting character that takes the film from beautiful to infinite. — BT

'On the Road'

IFC

A screen version of Jack Kerourac's seminal Beat Generation Bible was long considered unfilmable – and took a helluva long time making its way there once the project commenced – but Walter Salles ("The Motorcyle Diaries") has pulled it off. Granted, he trimmed off 20 minutes from the overly long version that debuted at Cannes, and folks unfamiliar with the source material (do you exist?) shouldn't expect a traditional narrative.  But this is a vibrant, stylish and incredibly faithful adaptation that's just alive in every sense. Dig on this one when it hits theaters in December. — KP

'Sightseers'

Big Talk

Alice Lowe ("Hot Fuzz") and Steve Oram ("Kill List") understand that feeling of barely-repressed rage you get when people carelessly disregard the rules of polite society; the pair wrote and star in "Sightseers," a disturbingly euphoric road trip movie in which a well-behaved, quiet couple punctuates trips to pencil museums and campgrounds with brutal murders of people who piss them off. It's the darkest of black comedies and painfully, relatably funny — it's worth noting that the people sitting behind us talked enthusiastically through much of the screening, missing a hilarious movie and the learning moment unfolding in front of them. They're lucky we're pacifists. — BT

'Spring Breakers'

Muse

Harmony Korine's slyly entertaining satire of a time-honored collegiate institution is the closest thing you'll ever witness to an avant garde frat party. There are boobs and beer bongs aplenty, but captured with an artful, "indie" aesthetic, if you can picture it (go ahead, we'll wait). The film's gotten notice for being the "naughty" R-rated coming-out party for teen idols Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez (they play two of four college co-eds who get into all sorts of trouble in a jaunt to Florida), but this movie is worth seeing alone (and you really should see it) for James Franco's hilariously awesome turn, as a gun-toting "gangsta" with cornrow dreadlocks and grills. We wouldn't mind this character in every movie ever. — KP

Viacom

In this weekend's "The Master," Joaquin Phoenix stars alongside Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a religious drama about a mentor who begins to question the motives and beliefs of his organization's leader. It's another Weinstein-produced film that could rack up tons of honors in the upcoming awards season.

Phoenix himself is no stranger to golden trophies. He picked up a Golden Globe for his performance as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line," a role that also garnered him an Academy Award nomination. It seems pretty darn hard to pick a favorite film that Phoenix, who dabbled with retirement in a brief moment of madness, has made over the last 26 years. From indies like "Inventing the Abbotts" to blockbusters like "Gladiator," it's no question why his career has lasted so long in Hollywood.

Back when he was still going by Leaf — a pseudonym he picked out for himself to blend in with the nature-related names of some of his brothers and sisters (Summer, the late River, Rain ...) — the actor got his start with a few bit parts on television shows and in made-for-TV movies. His big-screen break came in 1986 with "SpaceCamp" ... which was probably good preparation for the flying he did some years later when he appeared on the "The Adventures of Superboy."

While still paving the path to success, Phoenix played Billy Hercules in one episode of the television show based on Superman's youth. Taking flight to battle school bullies, Billy destroys the bad guys with laser-beam eyes and killer breath — and even gets to impress a pretty girl in the end. Of course, it was all a dream for the young wannabe superhero, but we can't help but believe how amazing this clip is from the show.

Think you know all there is to know about Joaquin Phoenix? Test your knowlege with the free NextMovie Trivia Challenge App!

CBS Films

With films like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech" having made their international debuts at the fest, the movies showing this year are among those we can't wait to see this fall — in fact, we listed 20 of them before TIFF even kicked off.

So, how did they fare? Well, here's what the reviewers from our sister site, Film.com, had to say...

"Seven Psychopaths": A
Starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Woody Harrelson. If you love quick dialogue and madcap situations, you'll feel this one came with a bow attached. Read the full review.

"The Company You Keep": C
Starring Susan Sarandon, Shia LaBeouf, Anna Kendrick and Robert Redford. Missing major moral fiber and a clear point. Read the full review.

"Thanks for Sharing": D+
Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins and Josh Gad. It's like "Shame" as a rom-com, which works about as well as you'd think. Read the full review.

"Silver Linings Playbook": A
Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro. Exceptional performances and direction by David O. Russell make this a film to see in theaters. Read the full review.

"The Master": B-
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Jesse Plemons. A movie for students of film history, and for audiences far more patient than average. Read the full review.

RedBud Pictures

"To the Wonder": B-
Starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko and Javier Bardem. The first and only Malick move that had me checking my watch. Read the full review.

"Imogene": D+
Starring Kristen Wiig, Darren Criss, Annette Bening and Matt Dillon. The real juice comes from the cast of pros, but that's not enough to save a hollow and uninteresting movie. Read the full review.

"The Iceman": C-
Starring Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, Winona Ryder and Michael Shannon. The enemy of all storytelling — and the downfall of "The Iceman" — is disconnection and boredom. Read the full review.

"Bad 25": A-
Starring Michael Jackson. Non-fans will be enthralled by Spike Lee's documentary. Actual fans will be ecstatic. Read the full review.

"Byzantium": C+
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton and Caleb Landry Jones. It will make moody, gothic fantasy fans happy, but non-vampire lovers will find it a bit, well, lifeless. Read the full review.

StudioCanal

"The Place Beyond the Pines": B
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Rose Byrne and Eva Mendes. There is true beauty in the despair that pervades "The Place Beyond the Pines," a treatise on the compromises we all make to protect and provide for our loved ones. Read the full review.

"Hyde Park on Hudson": D+
Starring Bill Murray, Laura Linney and Olivia Williams. A movie in desperate search of a point, despite a good concept and colorful cast. Read the full review.

"Cloud Atlas": C+
Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving. It's sort of like the "Matrix" trilogy in micro; it starts out absolutely brilliantly, then segues into a pretentious slog. Read the full review.

SBS Films

"Passion": C
Starring Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace and Karoline Herfurt. If director De Palma was trying to call to mind softcore cable movies from the '90s, he succeeded. Read the full review.

"Much Ado About Nothing": C
Starring Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg and Amy Acker. Everyone from high school kids to hipsters will dig this vibrant and bubbly adaptation from Joss Whedon. Read the full review.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower": A-
Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Paul Rudd. A must-see for fans of the coming-of-age drama... and the book. Read the full review.

"Hotel Transylvania": D+
Voices by Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Selena Gomez and Andy Samberg. A children's tale missing an innovative story is a miss. Read the full review.

Scott Rudin Productions

"Frances Ha": A
Starring Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver and Grace Gummer. It's a masterpiece at every level at execution. Read the full review.

"Dredd 3D":  B+
Starring Karl Urban, Lena Headey and Olivia Thirlby. The rare remake/reboot that's actually far superior to the original. Read the full review.

"Spring Breakers": B-
Starring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, James Franco and Ashley Benson. It's shallow, it's boring, it's poignant, it's clever, it's poorly acted, it's intentionally poorly acted. Read the full review.

"End of Watch": C
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña and Anna Kendrick. If you compare it to an average episode of "Criminal Minds," it's pretty good. Read the full review.

"Rust and Bone": B
Starring Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and Armand Verdure. If you're a lover of international cinema, you'll find much to enjoy here. Read the full review.

MK2 Productions

"On the Road": B+
Starring Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Riley and Viggo Mortensen. A plainspoken and restrained filmmaker's vision based on the classic book. Read the full review.

"Anna Karenina": C
Starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Visually striking, but leaves one of the greatest novelized tragedies entirely bereft of an emotional connection on the big screen. Read the full review.

"Argo": A
Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Affleck, who also directs, is in complete control of his game here. Read the full review.

"Looper": A-
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. Fans of rich sci-fi may want to keep a handkerchief on hand lest they find themselves drooling. Read the full review.

Stars at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival

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Weinstein Co.

Coming off a chorus of critics praising it to the rafters, "The Master" looks to be one of the must see movies of the Fall season. Why must we see it? Because Philip Seymour Hoffman told you to.

Hoffman plays a 1950s religious guru named Lancaster Dodd who takes rambunctious World War II vet Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix) under his wing. Their relationship goes from paternal to adversarial when Freddie realizes that Dodd's new-age cult The Cause might be leading him down the primrose path.

Check out these three collage-style clips to get yourself in the proper headspace for "The Master."

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman hosts the TV gameshow "Tell Me Your Personal S**t."

2. Joaquin Phoenix drinks some refreshing Missile Dew.

3. A creepy Phoenix walks the line between romanticism and insanity.

Warner Bros.

Hollywood usually ignores the rules of genetics when it comes to casting family members in movies. Even some of our favorite films of all time, from "The Godfather" to "The Royal Tenenbaums" feature relatives that no combination of chromosomes could have realistically created. But every once in a while, the showbiz powers that be strike casting gold with actors who resemble each other enough to believably share a last name.

Here are 12 pairs of co-stars who you'd swear could be related.

Philip Seymour Hoffman & Jesse Plemons in 'The Master'

The Weinstein Company

Who They Play: Author, philosopher, physicist and religious leader Lancaster Dodd and his skeptical son Val.

Why It Works: You don't have to be an experienced casting agent to see the striking resemblance. The round cheeks, the prominent chin, the fair skin, the blond, perfectly combed hair. But it goes beyond the obvious like hair color and skin tone — Plemons can summon Hoffman's intensity to complete the likeness.

Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand & Ben Stiller in 'Meet the Fockers'

Universal

Who They Play: The eccentric Focker clan: Capoeira-loving Bernie, sex therapist Roz, and their son, male nurse Greg.

Why It Works: With all due respect to Stiller's actual parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, the combination of Babs and Hoffman really does equal the compact, sarcastic, Semitic sexiness that is Ben Stiller. Watching the three of them interact is what made that comedy sequel watchable.

Anne Hathaway & Rosemarie DeWitt in 'Rachel Getting Married'

Sony Pictures Classics

Who They Play: Not-quite-recovering addict Kym and her completely put-together sister Rachel.

Why It Works: As on-screen siblings go, Hathaway and DeWitt had enough of the same look (willowy brunettes with dark eyes and bright smiles) to pass as sisters, or maybe it's because DeWitt is such a lovely girl-next-door chameleon that she can blend in with any of her fictional kin (see her opposite Jennifer Garner in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", Emily Blunt in "Your Sister's Sister" or even Toni Collette in "United States of Tara").

Michael Fassbender & Carey Mulligan in 'Shame'

Sony Pictures Classics

Who They Play: Sex addict New Yorker Brandon and his equally as-troubled younger sister Sissy.

Why It Works: If you can get past the incestuous undercurrent of their obviously dysfunctional relationship, you'll see that there's something about Fassbender and Mulligan's melancholy eyes that ties them together. Yes, he's all sharp angles and she's soft and apple-cheeked, but those sad, sad eyes make it clear that they belong to each other.

Jodie Foster & Kristen Stewart in 'Panic Room'

Columbia Pictures

Who They Play: Divorced New York City mom Meg Altman and her asthma-suffering tween Sarah.

Why It Works: Foster and Stewart not only match physically — beautiful and tomboyish with striking eyes — but they even sound alike. It's like Stewart was Foster's Mini-Me. These two are so similar they're like the female versions of Philip Seymour Hoffman and his "The Master" son Jesse Plemons. In fact, we propose a movie where Foster and Hoffman are the parents and Stewart and Plemons the grown-up kids. How 'bout it, David Fincher?

Johnny Depp & Keith Richards in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' and 'On Stranger Tides'

Disney

Who They Play: Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirate papa, Captain Teague.

Why It Works: In a delicious bit of meta-casting, Gore Verbinski scored the casting coup of the '00s by convincing the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist to play Johnny Depp's on-screen dad. After all, audiences and critics had been raving for years about how much Depp played Sparrow like a pirate version of Richards. Depp and Richards in their guyliner, dreads and beloved pirate hats is one of the best parts of the swashbuckling franchise.

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart & Mackenzie Foy in 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2'

Summit

Who They Play: Newlyweds Edward and Bella Cullen and their human-vampire daughter Renesmee.

Why It Works: Forget the ridiculous name (it's a mash-up of her grandmothers' names) and take a look at young Mackenzie. Now that it seems like Pattinson and Stewart may never get their happily ever after off-camera, Foy is as good as it gets in terms of a hypothetical Robsten offspring. The beautiful 11-year-old definitely won the genetic lottery, as she is the perfect combination of Rob and Kristen's gorgeous features.

Alfre Woodard & Sanaa Lathan in 'Something New,' 'The Family That Preys,' 'Love & Basketball'

New Line Cinema

Who They Play: Mother and daughter three times over: in the underrated interracial romcom "Something New", the Tyler Perry interracial dramedy "The Family That Preys" and the fabulous indie romance "Love & Basketball."

Why It Works: After a trifecta of films that show off their considerable skills at playing mother and child, we started to wonder if maybe Lathan really is Woodard's daughter. She isn't, but they sure could've fooled us with their twin almond-shaped eyes, perfect full lips and flawless skin.

Paula Malcomson & Willow Shields in 'The Hunger Games'

Lionsgate

Who They Play: Melancholy District 12 widow Mrs. Everdeen and her youngest daughter, Primrose.

Why It Works: In the books, dark-haired Katniss takes after their (deceased) father while little sister Prim is the spitting image of her fair-skinned, light-haired mom. And while the trilogy's devoted followers had very strong opinions about whether the main actors fit their image of the book characters, most fans agreed that Malcomson and Shields captured Suzanne Collins' description of Katniss' mother and sister.

Tony Shalhoub & Stanley Tucci in 'Big Night'

Miramax

Who They Play: Immigrant brothers appropriately named Primo (Shalhoub) and Secondo (Tucci).

Why It Works: Shalhoub is Lebanese and Tucci Italian, but they were an excellent match as brothers desperate to save their family-run restaurant in this foodie-approved period drama. Maybe we were distracted by the sheer amount of delectable Italian food on display, but a thickly mustachioed Tony and a thickly eyebrowed Stanley (with slicked-back hair!) could definitely pass for fratelli.

Rupert Grint & Bonnie Wright in 'Harry Potter'

Warner Bros.

Who They Play: The youngest of the seven magical Weasley kids: Ron and his little sister Ginny.

Why It Works: We know it seems there's only one prerequisite to being a member of the Wizarding World's Weasley clan — having red hair. But while most of the movie Weasleys had to get a dye job, natural gingers Grint and Wright stood out thanks to their matching locks, alabaster skin and sea-colored eyes. Plus, after ten years and eight movies, the two seemed as familiar as on-screen siblings can be — with or without magic.

Jake & Maggie Gyllenhaal in 'Donnie Darko'

Newmarket

Who They Play: Post-traumatic high schooler Donnie Darko and his Harvard-bound older sister Elizabeth.

Why It Works: We know it's cheating, since these two actually share the same DNA, but there were certainly people who saw the 2001 cult indie and thought, wow, that brother and sister really look alike. And they do. Plus, of all the brother-sister pairs working in Hollywood, we think the Gyllenhaals have what it takes to go the distance like Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine. Eleven years later and we're still keeping fingers crossed that they work together again.

The Weinstein Company

In the movie equivalent of awarding every player on a children's soccer team a trophy just for showing up, the Venice Film Festival invoked special rules over the weekend to prevent Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" from winning their top honor after jurors had awarded the film too many prizes.

Apparently there is such a thing as being too good.

Telling the tale of a 1950's pseudo-religious cult that may or may not be based on Scientology, "The Master" has been earning major award season buzz right from the moment its first trailer debuted and introduced the world to eye opening performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. And the Venice jury, headed by "Heat" director Michael Mann, was reportedly blown away as well, voting to give the film its top honor as well as awards for directing and acting.

In a bizarre twist, though, Venice recently amended their rules to prevent one film from winning more than two awards, apparently believing that excellence is secondary to inclusiveness. Every film is its own special snowflake and deserves a gold star, right? As a result, the jury had to rescind "The Master's" Golden Lion award and instead give it to Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta."

"The rules are very specific," Mann told The Hollywood Reporter. "A film may only win one award. The exception is actors. A film could win for actor and one of the other awards, but a film can’t win for actor and Golden Lion."

Mann still managed to trick the system a little bit, as the jury awarded the top acting prize jointly to both Hoffman and Phoenix, while also giving the directing prize to Anderson, meaning "The Master" actually won three prizes instead of one.

"[The Master] was awarded best director because we really thought Paul Thomas Anderson's directing was fantastic," Mann said. “And it allowed us to award the actors. Nobody else could have played these roles. It’s a three-handed triumph."

Unless, of course, you actually think the best movie should win the prize for best movie. But that would be crazy, right?

FilmDistrict

As much as we love all that summer has to offer, fall is where it's at for true cinephiles. The movie lover's season officially kicks off (according to us, anyway) the same day the annual Toronto International Festival launches every year in early September.

As has been the case for several years now, Toronto serves as a platform for studios to launch their Oscar hopefuls and for smaller indies to find a home (and maybe some awards down the line). "The King's Speech," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Precious" and "The Artist" all played at the festival before going on to Oscar glory while films like "Beginners," "Killer Joe" and "Your Sister's Sister," all came into the event without a distributor, and left with one.

As is usually the case, this year's slate looks supremely promising, with new films from Terence Malick, Ben Affleck, Neil Jordan, Brian De Palma, Joe Wright and a slew of others. Some are screening in Toronto shortly before opening in theaters, while others have no release date as of yet. But chances are, if they make a dent at the festival, you'll be seeing the latter ones soon enough.

To distill the massive lineup for your perusing pleasure, we've handpicked the 20 films we're most excited to see at TIFF.

Warner Bros.

'Argo'

If you would have told us 10 years ago that Ben Affleck was poised to become our generation's Clint Eastwood — a good actor who makes an even better director — we would've laughed in your face. And yet here we are, two films in, and Affleck has proved to be just that. His third, "Argo," premieres in Toronto, and, if the buzz is to be believed, it's his best to date, following "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town." Working on his broadest canvas yet, "Argo" tells the true story of a covert operation to rescue six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.

'Anna Karenina'

With only four films to his name ("Atonement," "Pride and Prejudice," "Hanna" and "The Soloist"), British director Joe Wright has singled himself out as one of the most eclectic and varied directors out there. Judging by the stunning trailer for his latest, his stock is only set to rise further with his radical take on the literary classic "Anna Karenina," starring his muse, Keira Knightley. Wright, never one to take the boring route, set the majority of the film on an actual stage to save on costs, and add a little theatrical flair to his period epic. Whether his gamble paid off, we have yet to see. But we sure can't wait.

'Bad 25'

It may be hard to fathom, but Michael Jackson's groundbreaking "Bad" album turns 25 this year. To pay tribute to the album's enduring legacy (and to the King of Pop himself), director Spike Lee has crafted what is sure to be the definitive documentary made as yet on the legend, and the album that has come to define him. The documentary features appearances by some of the King's collaborators including Martin Scorsese (who directed the "Bad" video) and Sheryl Crow (who toured with him) as well as those who were inspired by him, including such luminaries as Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Cee Lo Green.

WestEnd Films

'Byzantium'

"Interview With a Vampire" director Neil Jordan returns to the vampire genre with "Byzantium," starring Saoirse Ronan (arguably the most talented under 20 actress working today) and Gemma Arterton. The story centers on two female vampires (Ronan and Arterton), who wreak havoc on an unsuspecting seaside community. Given Jordan's track record since helming the Tom Cruise-starring "Interview" — he has since directed "Michael Collins," "The End of the Affair" and "Breakfast on Pluto," among many others — don't expect a "Twilight" knockoff, but something for the adult set with more on its mind than lust and blood.

'Cloud Atlas'

We were skeptical when we first caught wind that Tom Twyker and the Wachowski siblings had plans to adapt David Mitchell's epic novel "Cloud Atlas" for the screen. The book, which spans the 19th century to a post-apocalytptic future for a tale that shows how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future, seems totally unfilmable on the page. But after catching the stunning six-minute trailer for the independently financed film, consider us sold. Heck, we cried watching the thing.

Open Road Films

'End of Watch'

Jake Gyllenhaal, we're glad to have you back! It's been a year since "Source Code," the actor's last film to hit screens, so it's no wonder we're itching to see his heated turn in David Ayer's high-octane cop thriller, "End of Watch," co-starring Anna Kendrick and Michael Peña. Employing the found-footage aesthetic used in horror films like "The Blair Witch Project" and the "Paranormal Activity" series, "End of Watch" is said to plunge you into the lives of two L.A. cops (Gyllenhaal and Peña). How Ayer's method will pay off is anyone's guess. But, thanks to his cred (he penned the screenplay for one of the best cop films ever, "Training Day"), we have high hopes.

'Great Expectations'

"Four Weddings and a Funeral" director Mike Newell offers another stab at the Charles Dickens' classic with the Gothic-looking "Great Expectations." Folks expecting a modern take on the material, like the dreamy adaptation helmed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, will be sorely disappointed, but we can't wait to see the story told the way Dickens meant it to be told. Like the novel, Newell's film is set in the mid-1800s. And, judging by the promising international trailer for the film, Helena Bonham Carter seems to be having a total campy ball as a spiteful recluse who tries to get between the two lovers at the center of the tale (played by "War Horse" breakout Jeremy Irvine and Holiday Grainger).

Sony

'Hotel Transylvania'

Celebrated animator Genndy Tartakovsky (best known for his work on "Star Wars: Clone Wars" and "The Powerpuff Girls") makes his leap into feature film animation with this ghoulish tale sure to enthrall both adults and kids alike. Headlined by a great voice cast that includes Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez and Steve Buscemi, "Hotel Transylvania" offers a lighter take on the Dracula story by centering on Dracula's attempts to keep his daughter protected from the vices of the outside world. To do so, he's built the titular hotel, a place where monsters of all kinds have a sanctuary to unwind and be themselves. Dracula's attempts at keeping his daughter in a bubble are thwarted when a human comes upon his castle.

'Hyde Park on Hudson'

Bill Murray is said to give an Oscar-worthy performance as Franklin Delano Roosevelt — the only U.S. president to hold office for three consecutive terms — in "Hyde Park on Hudson," a lighthearted glimpse into the life of the beloved icon. The film depicts one of the last pre-war weekends in 1939, when King George VI and Queen Consort Elizabeth (yep, the same folks played by Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech") paid a visit to the president's estate in Upstate New York. To add some drama to the mix, the ever-reliable Laura Linney is said to give a great supporting turn as Roosevelt's distant cousin, whom the president takes a more than friendly liking to.

Anonymous Content

'Imogene'

With her run on "Saturday Night Live" done and her last film to hit theaters, "Bridesmaids," a bona fide hit, Kristin Wiig is set to take the big screen by storm. That's the main reason we're so amped to see her back in leading lady mode in the indie comedy "Imogene," a character study about a down-on-her-luck aspiring playwright, who, at the story's outset, has staged her own suicide just to get her ex's attention. Desperate much? After the botched attempt to win him back, Imogene is remanded to the custody of her mother (Annette Bening), who, as it turns out, is just as messed up as her daughter.

'Looper'

If high-concept sci-fi is your thing, then you're undoubtedly psyched to see Rian Johnson's follow-up to "The Brothers Bloom," "Looper," which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as the same dude. Yeah, you heard that right. Set in the near future (well, 2072), "Looper" imagines a world where when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gunmen (called Loopers) await to finish them off, thereby erasing their future. So you can imagine one Looper's reaction when the guy they send back for him to kill is his older self. Will this be the next "Matrix?" Only time will tell, but we're hopeful.

The Weinstein Company

'The Master'

Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" has been courting a ton of praise after selectively screening across the U.S. prior to its Toronto bow, with the majority of critics saying that this is one to beat come Oscar time. Joaquin Phoenix, who last appeared as himself in the divisive mockumentary "I'm Still Here," is said to give the performance of his career as a troubled WWII vet who finds himself under the wing of an enigmatic cult leader (Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman). There's been a ton of speculation as to whether "The Master" is Anderson's take on the birth of Scientology. Having not seen it, we don't know whether it is or not. All we know is that it looks like one of the best films of the year.

'Much Ado About Nothing'

Is there anything Joss Whedon can't conquer? After proving to be a force on the small screen by creating "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, Whedon gave James Cameron a run for his title as King of the World after decimating box-office rivals with his summer smash hit, "The Avengers." And now with his black-and-white indie "Much Ado About Nothing," Whedon is out to prove that he can do Shakespeare... in modern day, no less. In Whedon we trust.

MK2 Productions

'On the Road'

All eyes with be on Kristin Stewart in Toronto, where the "Twilight" beauty is expected to make an appearance in honor of her buzzed-about supporting turn in "On the Road," Walter Salles' long anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac's seminal novel of the same name. While most of the focus will be placed on how she reacts when asked about her recent cheating scandal, we're more curious to see her performance as an uninhibited teenager in the epic indie. Both the film and Stewart drew rave reviews at Cannes following its world premiere earlier this year. Her romantic life might be in the stinker, but if the hype is to be believed, her artistic one is flourishing.

'The Paperboy'

"The Paperboy" (a.k.a. the movie in which Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman pees on Zac Efron) was one the most divisive movies to ever play in Cannes, courting both praise and derision, so it's no wonder we're curious to check out this potboiler. In the film, set in Miami in the 1960s, Efron plays a directionless young man drafted to help his journalist brother (Matthew McConaughey) investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a man (John Cusack) on death row. Kidman is said to give a scene-stealing performance as a horned up woman corresponding with the prisoner. In following up his Oscar-winning "Precious" with this lurid tale based on Pete Dexter's novel of the same name, Lee Daniels made one hell of risk. Here's hoping it paid off.

SBS Films

'Passion'

Sure to be the guilty pleasure of the festival is Brian De Palma's sleazy-looking follow-up to his divisive war film "Redacted," "Passion." The thriller finds the "Carrie" director back in "Femme Fatale" mode, pairing Rachel McAdams up with Noomi Rapace for a sexy tale centered on a driven ingenue (Rapace) who engages in a deadly battle with her ruthless mentor (McAdams), a woman she secretly harbors a deep attraction for. We can't wait to see Rapace bury deep into a role as dark as her breakout one as Lisbeth Salander, the original "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." As for McAdams, we can't wait to see her play another mean girl (forgive the pun).

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

Emma Watson has a huge fan base thanks to the "Harry Potter" franchise, but she has yet prove her staying power in Hollywood — hence the reason we're so curious to see how she fares as one of the leads in Stephen Chobsky's film adaptation of his own popular novel, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." In the coming-of-age drama, Watson and Ezra Miller star as two high school seniors who take an introverted freshman (Logan Lerman) under their wings to show him the ropes and a good time.

The Weinstein Co.

'Silver Linings Playbook'

Bad-boy director David O. Russell follows up his Oscar-winning crowd-pleaser "The Fighter" with something altogether different – a drama about a teacher (Bradley Cooper) with a troubled past who moves back in with his mother. Russell knows his way around actors ("The Fighter" netted Best Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor Oscars), so we can't wait to see what he wrings out of his new ensemble. Along for the ride with Cooper are Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Tucker (remember him?).

'Spring Breakers'

Despite its Disney-friendly cast (Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens both headline), "Spring Breakers" ain't for the tween set. Directed by art house madman Harmony Korine ("Trash Humpers") and co-starring Hollywood's anti-conformist James Franco, "Spring Breakers" stars Gomez and Hudgens as two of four female co-eds in an unnamed college town who rob a coffee shop to help pay for their trip to a beach. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned, and they end up in the slammer. Franco, sporting dreadlocks and a gold grill, plays a local petty gangster who bails them out. Why Gomez and Hudgens risked alienating their fan base by taking part in this oddball flick is anyone's guess. We couldn't be happier. Is Bieber next?

RedBud Pictures

'To the Wonder'

The ever elusive Terrence Malick usually takes more than 10 years between projects to wow the movie-going public, so you can imagine our disbelief when we learned that his follow-up to last year's stunner "The Tree of Life," "To the Wonder," is ready and primed for Toronto. Whatever caused the legendary director to pick up the pace, we'll likely never know. One thing we know for certain: we couldn't be happier. Rumored to be ever more experimental than his last film (and that's saying a lot), "To the Wonder" stars Ben Affleck as man who brings back a woman (Olga Kurylenko) from Europe to marry, only to fall back in love with his childhood sweetheart (Rachel McAdams). Who doesn't love a highbrow love triangle?

Universal

It must be Fall! School's finally in session, the weather is getting ever slightly cooler and the offerings at your local movie theater change from big-budget popcorn fare to serious potential award winners.

This autumn the studios have a wide array of noteworthy films to put on your must-see list, from art-house Oscar contenders to teen ensembles and much-anticipated literary and musical adaptations.

We're celebrating the start of Fall with 15 actors who are going to blow audiences away this season. Some have been around for a few years but have yet to break out and others are lucky enough to have their first major roles in buzzworthy movies.

If acclaimed directors like Ang Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson and Peter Jackson saw something in them, we probably will, too.

Weinstein Co.

Jesse Plemons

Fall Film: "The Master" (Sept. 14)
Why He'll Be a Star: To an up-and-coming actor, getting to appear in a Paul Thomas Anderson film as Philip Seymour Hoffman's son is like striking gold. The 24-year-old has had a loyal following of fans since playing "Friday Night Lights" MVP Landry and this year he expanded his acting repertoire to include an unforgettably disturbing character in "Breaking Bad." From TV's best shows to the year's most-anticipated drama, Plemons is a master of picking projects.

Lionsgate

Nate Parker

Fall Film: "Arbitrage" (Sept. 14)
Why He'll Be a Star: Parker has been on the cusp of stardom since his impressive turn in 2007's "The Great Debaters," but we think he's finally hitting his stride. In director Nicholas Jarecki's Sundance hit "Arbitrage," Parker plays a hoodie-sporting Harlemite who helps his chauffeur dad's billionaire employer (Richard Gere) get rid of some damning evidence. Already hailed an Oscar contender, "Arbitrage" is exactly the kind of prestigious drama that will catapult Parker to the A-list.

Summit

Ezra Miller

Fall Film: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (Sept. 21)
Why He'll Be a Star: Hollywood, it's definitely Miller time. The 19-year-old actor is already on critics' radars after his stunning if difficult-to-watch performance opposite Tilda Swinton in last year's "We Need to Talk About Kevin." But after starring in Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of his own coming-of-age novel, Miller — who plays the charismatic gay teen Patrick — should become as sought-after as his "Perks" co-stars Emma Watson and Logan Lerman.

Also Check Out: 30 Must-See Fall Movies

Universal

Rebel Wilson

Fall Films: "Bachelorette" (Sept. 7) and "Pitch Perfect" (Oct. 5)
Why She'll Be a Star: Audiences may not know her name, but anyone who saw "Bridesmaids" remembers her hilarious bit as Kristen Wiig's clueless, snooping roommate. This fall, Wilson doubles the funny in two comedy ensembles — as the put-upon bride in the "Bridesmaids"-like indie, "Bachelorette," and as a self-deprecating a cappella singer in the college musical, "Pitch Perfect." The Aussie comedian's gift for scene stealing is sure to lead to even bigger roles.

Summit

Mackenzie Foy

Fall Film: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (Nov. 16)
Why She'll Be a Star: Much to Robsten fans' dismay, the lovely 11-year-old may be the only offspring (fictional or real) to ever belong to "Twilight" stars and off-screen exes Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. As Renesmee, the hybrid human-vampire daughter of Edward and Bella Cullen, Foy (who says she's too young to have read the books) gets to interact with the franchise's biggest players — including Taylor Lautner, her adoring imprinted werewolf Jacob.

Fox 2000

Suraj Sharma

Fall Film: "Life of Pi" (Nov. 21)
Why He'll Be a Star: Most young actors debut in small talking parts as a random middle-schooler or an adult character's kid. Not Suraj Sharma. He beat out 3,000 other actors to star in "Life of Pi," a whimsical fable that completely hinges on Sharma's ability to play Pi, a zookeeper's son who's the sole human survivor of a shipwreck. His only companions while adrift are a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Suraj, meet world.

Universal

Samantha Barks

Fall Film: "Les Miserables" (Dec. 14)
Why She'll Be a Star: Although it was originally speculated that Taylor Swift would land the much-coveted role of Eponine, Samantha Barks got the part. Even in an all-star ensemble that includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, it's Eponine's tragic love triangle with Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) that we can't wait to see. Having already nailed the part in the televised 25th Anniversary Concert of "Les Miz," we expect her to be equally as pitch perfect in the film.

New Line

Aidan Turner

Fall Film: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (Dec. 14)
Why He'll Be a Star:  This December, "The Lord of the Rings" fans will find themselves fancying not a beautiful blond elf but the most surprisingly dashing dwarf in Middle-earth. Turner first turned heads as a sexy vampire on the U.K.'s paranormal series "Being Human"; in early 2011, Peter Jackson tapped the bedroom-eyed Irishman to play a brave young dwarf. As one of the 13 dwarves that Bilbo Baggins joins on "An Unexpected Journey," Turner should be as memorable a warrior as the beloved Gimli.

IFC Films

Sam Riley

Fall Film: "On the Road" (Dec. 21)
Why He'll Be a Star: Critics started singing Riley's praises when he transformed into Ian Curtis, the suicidal frontman of Joy Division, in the 2007 biopic "Control." The English musician-turned-actor is back for another riveting role as the adventure-seeking protagonist (and Jack Kerouac stand-in) Sal Paradise in Walter Salles' adaptation of "On the Road." If this anthem to the Beat Generation doesn't make Riley a star, certainly his sexy scenes opposite Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund will.

MGM

Berenice Marlohe

Fall Film: "Skyfall" (Nov. 9)
Why She'll Be a Star: Have you seen her? If you could combine the sexiness of Angelina Jolie and Sophia Loren, you'd get Berenice Marlohe. The French beauty is the latest in a long line of gorgeous and enigmatic Bond Girls, and while she has gone on record saying there's no nudity in the 23rd 007 film, we imagine she will smolder enough to make her the newest hot import from Paris a la Berenice Bejo, Marion Cotillard, Eva Green, Juliette Binoche, etc.

The Weinstein Company

Scoot McNairy

Fall Films: "Argo" (Oct. 12) and "Killing Them Softly" (Oct. 19)
Why He'll Be a Star: Since its bow at Cannes this May, "Killing Them Softly" has been heaped such critical praise as "superb," "extraordinary" and "an acting class." Scoot's performance as a petty criminal who pulls off a dangerous mob heist was similarly hailed as "brilliant." And that thriller — starring Brad Pitt, no less — premieres in the U.S. just one week after Ben Affleck's historical drama "Argo," in which McNairy plays one of six Americans who must pose as a Canadian film crew to flee revolutionary Iran.

20th Century Fox

Jonny Weston

Fall Film: "Chasing Mavericks" (Oct. 26)
Why He'll Be a Star: Who doesn't love a good surfer flick? In "Chasing Mavericks," the curly-haired newcomer plays surfing legend Jay Moriarty, who, with the guidance of mentor Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler), successfully conquered "mavericks" (huge, nearly mythical waves) at only 16. An accomplished surfer himself, 22-year-old Weston didn't need as much training as Butler. If he kills the role, Weston is sure to ride the wave of Curtis Hanson's biopic to Hollywood stardom.

Columbia Pictures

Scott Adkins, Mark Strong, Taylor Kinney, Jason Clarke, Edgar Ramirez

Fall Film: "Zero Dark Thirty" (Dec. 19)
Why They'll Be Stars: Strong is already a go-to character actor who specializes in playing intimidating villains. Ramirez had a mesmerizing turn in the award-winning miniseries "The Jackal"; Kinney's best known as Lady Gaga's on-again, off-again love interest and for his stint on "The Vampire Diaries"; Clarke burned up the screen opposite Tom Hardy in "Lawless"; and Adkins is a martial arts expert turned actor. Come December, all five of these actors are sure to prove they're much more than handsome faces in Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow's dramatization of the Osama bin Laden raid. 

Relativity Media

Max Thieriot

Fall Film: "House at the End of the Street" (Sept. 21)
Why He'll Be a Star: At only 23, Thieriot has already made 15 movies; mostly family-friendly films like "Kit Kittredge" and "The Pacifier" but also decidedly more grown-up fare like "Chloe" and "My Soul to Take." Thieriot takes on horror once again as Jennifer Lawrence's cute but seriously damaged neighbor in "House at the End of the Street" — he lives in the same house where his family was murdered, and he may or may not have a serious case of the Norman Bates vibe. Run, Jen, run!

Universal

Anna Camp

Fall Film: "Pitch Perfect" (Oct. 5)
Why She'll Be a Star: Those of us who watch a lot of primetime television have already taken notice of Camp for stints in an impressive slate of dramas ("True Blood," "Mad Men," "The Good Wife"). Plus, she's Mindy Kaling's BFF in Fox's new comedy "The Mindy Kaling Project." On the big screen, Camp is perfectly cast as an a cappella prima donna in "Pitch Perfect." With her gift for comedy and drama, she's like the second coming of Rachel McAdams.

New Line / Summit / Sony

As the autumnal leaves cover the streets and the birds fly south, a gust of wind blows a whole slew of promising new movies into our local multiplex.

While the summer is all about sound and fury, the fall has dark dramas and Oscar caliber performances dominating the cinematic landscape. Come in from the cold for these highly promising 30 movies, ranked in order of anticipation, which promise to get a warm reception.

30. 'Paranormal Activity 4'

Paramount

Release Date: Oct. 19
Starring: Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton
The Scoop: While "Activity 3" was a prequel, this one follows the events of Part 2, with Katie and the abducted Hunter (now called "Robbie") moving into a new house in a peaceful area. It's safe to say that the demonically possessed Katie will cause a little ruckus. There goes the neighborhood.

Watch the trailer

29. 'End of Watch'

Open Road Films

Release Date: Sept. 21
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick
The Scoop: After writing "Training Day," David Ayer became the go-to guy for gritty L.A.-set crime movies like "Street Kings" and "Harsh Times." This one is business as usual for Ayer, with Gyllenhaal and Peña playing two LAPD officers who are targeted by a drug cartel. Good luck with that, guys. We'll be at In-and-Out Burger 'til you're through.

Watch the trailer

28. 'Dredd'

Lionsgate

Release Date: Sept. 21
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey
The Scoop: The cult British comic book character from "2000 AD" takes his inaugural motorcycle ride onto the big screen… as long as you don't count the 1995 Sylvester Stallone atrocity. Which we don't. Urban puts on the helmet — and keeps it on — of Mega City One's toughest law enforcement officer. As Nick Frost from "Hot Fuzz" might say, he's Judge Judy and executioner.

Watch the trailer

27. 'Trouble With the Curve'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: Sept. 21
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman
The Scoop: Eastwood plays a crotchety old man? Get outta town! Yep, Dirty Harry himself is back onscreen for the first time since "Grand Torino," playing an aging baseball scout with bad eyesight who bonds with his neglected daughter (Adams) during a road trip.

Watch the trailer

26. 'Killing Them Softly'

Weinstein Co.

Release Date: Oct. 19
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta
The Scoop: Apparently not based on the old Roberta Flack song, this crime drama reunites Pitt with "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" director Andrew Dominik, and, although the title is shorter, the violence should be plentiful. Pitt plays a New Orleans mob enforcer dealing with a couple guys who unknowingly ripped off a mafia-protected poker game.

Watch the trailer

25. 'House at the End of the Street'

Relativity

Release Date: Sept. 21
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Max Thieriot, Elisabeth Shue
The Scoop: J.Law can finally take advantage of her post-"Hunger Games" superstardom with this terror tale about a mother and daughter who move into a house where a multiple murder took place. Things get further complicated when the daughter (Lawrence) begins a relationship with the only survivor of the attack, played by a creepy Thieriot. If Daniel Radcliffe can make the leap from YA family films to horror, the odds are in Lawrence's favor.

Watch the trailer

24. 'Silver Linings Playbook'

Weinstein Co.

Release Date: Nov. 21
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker
The Scoop: Seems like his success with "The Fighter" has given director David O. Russell a taste for audience pleasing, which he looks to do again with this seriocomic flick about a guy named Pat (Cooper) who moves in with his parents after a stint in a mental institution and takes up dancing with the help of another eccentric played by Lawrence. Bonus:  Tucker's first non-"Rush Hour" movie in 14 years!

Watch the trailer

23. 'Jack Reacher'

Paramount

Release Date: Dec. 21
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog
The Scoop: The hero of Lee Child's neverending series of beach read novels comes to the screen in the form of Cruise, who clearly means business as the title ex-Military Police turned drifter avenger. Of course, for all the action and explosiveness, they had us at "Werner Herzog plays the bad guy." Yeah, we'll pay to see that.

Watch the trailer

22. 'Anna Karenina'

Focus Features

Release Date: Nov. 16
Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
The Scoop: This umpteenth cinematic version of Tolstoy's 1877 literary masterpiece also marks the third pairing of Knightley and director Joe Wright after "Pride & Prejudice" and "Atonement." A visually sumptuous film to be sure if the trailer is any indication, the tragedy of a married aristocrat and her affair with an affluent cavalry officer offers lots of lush scenery, plus Law rocking a balding head that makes him look way more intellectual than we're used to.

Watch the trailer

21. 'Wreck-It Ralph'

Disney

Release Date: Nov. 2
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman
The Scoop: Finally, a movie that truly embraces the culture and aesthetic of video games, from Donkey Kong-esque arcade parlor units to the modern Playstation blast-a-thons. Reilly plays the villain of an old school game who decides he doesn't want to be the bad guy anymore, and wanders off into various other ADD-afflicted modern games. He's a fish out of quarters… er, water.

Watch the trailer

20. 'This Is 40'

Universal

Release Date: Dec. 21
Starring: Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks
The Scoop: Judd Apatow has made the leap from "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" to "The 40-Year-Old Mid-Life Crisis." Rudd and Mann reprise their "Knocked Up" roles of married couple Pete and Deb as they reevaluate their lives while trying to juggle children, career and a host of insecurities. Also featured is comedy legend Albert Brooks ("Broadcast News"), who can still improv with the best of them, as Rudd's guilt-trip delivering father.

Watch the trailer

19. 'The Impossible'

Summit

Release Date: Dec. 21
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Geraldine Chaplin
The Scoop: If you saw director Juan Antonio Bayona's brilliant Spanish language horror fable "The Orphanage" then you're aware that he is a scare master of Hitchcockian magnitude. Now he's tackling real-life horror with this tale of a family caught in the massive tsunami after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Their harrowing journey to reunite amid the devastation looks like a moving survival story.

Watch the trailer

18. 'Pitch Perfect'

Universal

Release Date: Oct. 5
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson
The Scoop: The lovably adorkable Kendrick plays Beca, the new girl in an all-ladies a cappella group. She meets some resistance when she attempts to modernize their song repertoire and style, but, when the revamp goes well, they realize they could make it all the way to the championship. Wilson, who was hilarious in "Bridesmaids," plays Fat Amy, a role she presumably took on before going into Jenny Craig.

Watch the trailer

17. 'Seven Psychopaths'

CBS Films

Release Date: Oct. 12
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken
The Scoop: Since giving us the hilarious, slapstick bloodshed of 2008's "In Bruges," Martin McDonagh has more than doubled the number of psychopaths for this new comedy of violence. Farrell plays a struggling screenwriter whose best friend (Rockwell) kidnaps a dog from a violent gangster (Harrelson), setting off a series of unfortunate events that even Lemony Snicket might cringe at.

Watch the trailer

16. 'Frankenweenie'

Disney

Release Date: Oct. 5
Starring: Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short
The Scoop: Tim Burton has made movies based on books, comics, soap operas, other movies, even trading cards, but this has to be a first for the gothic auteur: he's remaking his own movie. Based on a popular short he made for Disney in the early '80s, this ghoulish grotesque chronicles a shy mad scientist of a boy named Victor (Tahan) as he attempts to reanimate his plucky dog Sparky. This looks to be a beautiful black and white stop-motion treat, and a throwback to old Universal monster movies as well as the Burton of yore.

Watch the trailer

15. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2'

Summit

Release Date: Nov. 16
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
The Scoop: Whether you see it as tying a bow of finality or the last nail in the coffin, the saga of the Cullens, the Swans and Blacks comes to a rousing conclusion. Bring your hankies. Bella enjoys some of her newfound vampiric powers, while the battle over her baby Renesmee reaches a fever pitch as the Volturi threaten the child.

Watch the trailer

14. 'On the Road'

IFC Films

Release Date: Dec. 21
Starring: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart
The Scoop: The perennial beatnik tome by Jack Kerouac peels out as Sal Paradise (Riley), Dean Moriarty (Hedlund) and Marylou (Stewart) explore the American dream and each other's bodies in equal measure. Brazilian director Walter Salles knows from 1950s road trips, as demonstrated in "The Motorcycle Diaries," but has a lot of expectation in adapting such a beloved work of 20th century fiction.

Watch the trailer

13. 'Life of Pi'

Fox

Release Date: Nov. 21
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall
The Scoop: Yann Martel's ubiquitous bestseller struggled for years to find the right filmmaker (M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuaron, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) before Ang Lee took on the mighty task. Both epic and intimate, the story of spiritually experimental teen Pi Patel and his struggle to survive aboard a lifeboat with a slew of animals, including one ferocious Bengal tiger, will be a challenge for audiences as well… one we're ready to take on.

Watch the trailer

12. 'Zero Dark Thirty'

Sony

Release Date: Dec. 19
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez
The Scoop: Will an elite special forces team be able to capture or kill the elusive terrorist Osama Bin Laden? That's a question you'll have to wait to find the answer to (or not), as "Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow brings her bag of pyrotechnic tricks to yet another serious story of military bravery. Also, the title sounds like a candy bar.

Watch the trailer

11. 'Flight'

Paramount

Release Date: Nov. 2
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, John Goodman
The Scoop: Loosely inspired by the Hudson River landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009, Washington plays airline pilot Captain William Whitaker, who saves the lives of his passengers with a heroic hot dog maneuver. Unfortunately, a team of investigators think he also may have caused the accident. Goodman will lend some fat guy levity to this serious ethical quandary from director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump").

Watch the trailer

10. 'Les Miserables'

Universal

Release Date: Dec. 14
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
The Scoop: Tom Hooper follows his "King's Speech" Oscar glory with this mammoth film version of the long-running musical. Victor Hugo's story of tragic hero Jean Valjean (Jackman) clawing his way back (that's a Wolverine joke) into society after a 19-year imprisonment. Crowe is his relentless nemesis, Inspector Javert, and Hathaway may just bring the house down as Fantine singing "I Dreamed a Dream."

Watch the trailer

9. 'The Master'

Weinstein Co.

Release Date: Sept. 14
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
The Scoop: Already controversial before it shot a single frame of footage, "There Will Be Blood" filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson's veiled look at the birth of Scientology and the fundamentals of belief looks to be another of the director's strong character explorations. Hoffman plays the L. Ron Hubbard stand-in, who starts a religious movement following World War II, with an alcoholic drifter named Freddie (Phoenix) as his right-hand man. Trouble brews when Freddie begins to doubt his mentor.

Watch the trailer

8. 'Argo'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: Oct. 12
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman
The Scoop: That's right, this is the third movie of the fall season to feature the delightfully doughy Goodman, whose appearance is always welcome. It's also the third directorial outing from star Ben Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone," "The Town"), based on the "declassified true story" of six U.S. diplomats rescued from Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis under the guise of a fake sci-fi film cooked up by the CIA. The name of that movie was "Armageddon." Just kidding.

Watch the trailer

7. 'Cloud Atlas'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: Oct. 26
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant
The Scoop: Warning: you may need an actual atlas to navigate the narrative filmmakers Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") and the Wachowskis ("The Matrix") have crafted. It's the kind of grandiose, relentlessly eccentric epic you would expect from a movie made by three directors, with stars like Hanks all playing multiple characters of different ages and races in a time-leaping narrative that spans the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future. Does this movie hold the secrets to life, the universe, and everything? It's either this one or "Frankenweenie," that's all we know.

Watch the trailer

6. 'Skyfall'

Sony

Release Date: Nov. 9
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes
The Scoop: James Bond is back, only this time he's a tad rusty after taking a little vacation, which he had to fake his death for. Typical. Craig returns to his much-loved portrayal of England's No. 1 super spy, 007, this time taking on the ruthlessly blonde Raoul Silva (Bardem), who has secret ties to Bond. Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes of "American Beauty" brings some beautiful cinematography to the proceedings.

Watch the trailer

5. 'Lincoln'

Dreamworks

Release Date: Nov. 16
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Scoop: After something like a decade of development — with original star Liam Neeson lost in the shuffle — director Steven Spielberg at last brings us a historical epic with Day-Lewis detailing the historical final months of Abraham Lincoln's presidency. Expect the multiple Oscar-winner/immersive method actor to bring his trademark intensity to the part, which once again proves that if you need someone to play the hell out of an American icon (Batman, Superman, Nixon, etc), you call a Brit.

Trailer coming soon.

4. 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

Summit

Release Date: Sept. 21
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
The Scoop: Author Stephen Chbosky adapts and directs his own 1999 novel of teenage angst and introversion. How do we know it'll be movie magic? For one thing, you've got Hogwarts-certified wizard Watson, making a seamless transition to adult roles, as well as that other YA movie hero Percy Jackson (Lerman) as Charlie, the shy kid who has to deal with issues of friendship, sex, drugs, homosexuality and other issues in the teen experience.

Watch the trailer

3. 'Django Unchained'

Weinstein Co.

Release Date: Dec. 25
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
The Scoop: After years of filling his movies with Sergio Leone homages and Ennio Morricone music, Quentin Tarantino finally gives us the Spaghetti Western we've always wanted from him… even though it takes place in the south. Foxx is the title freed slave-turned-bounty hunter, Waltz his partner, and DiCaprio gets to chew the scenery as evil plantation owner Calvin Candie. Expect this one to be a Royale with lots of (intentional) cheese.

Watch the trailer

2. 'Looper'

Sony

Release Date: Sept. 28
Starring: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano
The Scoop: This head-spinning sci-fi mind trip reunites writer/director Rian Johnson with his "Brick" star Gordon-Levitt, but you wouldn't know it from looking at him. Subtle make-up and precision mimicry enabled the actor to create the world's greatest Bruce Willis impression, which came in handy as his assassin character chases after his future self, played by Willis. It's a good bet this will be a heady, "12 Monkeys"-esque classic.

Watch the trailer

1. 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

New Line

Release Date: Dec. 14
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis
The Scoop: Perhaps the most hotly anticipated movie in all of geekdom, this prequel to "Lord of the Rings" finds diminutive hero Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) whisked off on an adventure complete with singing dwarves, trolls turned to stone and one greedy dragon. It's all courtesy of our favorite pot-smoking wizard Gandalf (McKellen), and our favorite chubby New Zealander, director Peter Jackson.

Watch the trailer

The Weinstein Company

Now here's the PTA magic we've been waiting for!

The couple of teaser trailers for "The Master," Paul Thomas Anderson's new drama that is almost most definitely inspired by the rise of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology, were intriguing but — as can be PTA's way when it comes to promotional materials — frustratingly elliptical. We got a look at Joaquin Phoenix as some sort of troubled soul (who likes to spend time on beaches, apparently) and PTA veteran Philip Seymour Hoffman as a charismatic yet somewhat sinister fella with a rather ambitious agenda.

They weren't much, but as they were the teasers for the new film from the guy who brought us "Sydney" (aka "Hard Eight"), "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," "Punch-Drunk Love" and "There Will Be Blood," we knew they were but fractured glimpses of the true cinematic greatness yet to come and that our patience as we await a look at the bigger picture would be rewarded. And with the release of the full trailer for "The Master," we were right.

Oh boy, is this one going to ruffle some feathers. Check out the trailer below, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, and pledge your own allegiance to "The Master" when it opens on October 12.

Getty Images

If there's going to be controversy, you might as well get on with it as soon as possible.

Paul Thomas Anderson figures that his new film, "The Master," is probably going to receive some criticism (to put it lightly) from the Church of Scientology, as it's somewhat inspired by the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. But instead of trying to keep "The Master" under wraps and dealing with the storm when it comes upon the film's theatrical release in October, Anderson is attempting to extend something of an olive branch early on by screening it for one of Scientology's most prominent members: Tom Cruise, according to The Wrap.

Anderson choosing Cruise as his potential celebrity ally comes as no surprise, as the actor received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of self-help sex guru Frank T.J. Mackey in the writer-director's "Magnolia." However, even though they're old pals and all, Cruise still reportedly "has issues" with some parts of the movie.

"The Master," which is still in post production, tells the story of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the leader of a cult-like movement called The Cause who takes a troubled wandering spirit (Joaquin Phoenix) under his wing as his right-hand man. The similarities to Hubbard include the post-World War II time frame and Dodd's taking a boat trip during which he arrives at a new philosophy and creates a faith-based movement.

Paul Thomas Anderson and the film's distributor, the Weinstein Company, are currently in discussions involving how to best market the film, especially in regards to its thematic and narrative similarities to Scientology. How the church's most prominent members — Tom Cruise being one of them — react to the film will help shape that publicity strategy.

The tone of "The Master" hasn't been revealed, so exactly how Anderson approached this story is unknown. The first teaser trailer for the film was released earlier this week and — like the first teaser for Anderson's last film, "There Will Be Blood" — it's a look at one stand-alone moment in the story without any real context to the big picture.

Expect this one to be shrouded in mystery all the way up to its theatrical release on Oct. 12. Until then, stay tuned for any reports on just what some of Tom Cruise's "issues" might be.

The Weinstein Co.

With all the alien invasions, sinking battleships and avenging superheroes going on at the box office right now, it might seem like a strange time to begin talking about Oscar buzz. But thanks to the brand new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," the 2013 Oscar race has officially just kicked off.

And Joaquin Phoenix is leading the way.

Phoenix, of course, has been on a long, strange trip after disappearing down the rabbit hole five years ago to film his bizarre mockumentary passion project "I'm Still Here." Now, though, the Oscar nominated actor is finally back making dramas.

And from the looks of "The Master," he couldn't have picked a better project. Not only is it written and directed by acclaimed auteur Anderson ("There Will be Blood"), it also co-stars fellow Oscar darlings Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams — neither of whom, it should be noted, are anywhere to be seen in the new trailer.

No, this is all about the triumphant return of Joaquin Phoenix. Here it is, courtesy of the film's official website. Welcome back, Joaquin.

New Line

It's almost hard to believe, but with the conclusion of Sunday's Academy Awards, this year's awards race is now officially over -- and the race to the 2013 Oscars has officially begin.

While it's obviously premature to guess who will be walking up to the podium next year to accept their golden man, we figured you'd like an idea of the likely contenders. If these films we've assembled as our early (way early) 2013 Oscar predictions are anything to go by, next year's race promises to be a solid one. Bring them on!

Also Check Out: 2012 Oscar Winners List

'Argo
'

While his acting career has yet to peak, Ben Affleck's directorial career is flourishing. His last two films, "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town," were critical darlings that each garnered Academy Award nominations, so expectations are riding high on his next one, "Argo," to deliver. The true story chronicles the covert operation to rescue six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Bryan Cranston)

'Anna Karenina'

Academy members are suckers for a good period romp with stellar source material, so they'll no doubt lap up this epic adaptation of the historically acclaimed novel. It also helps that the film's helmed by Oscar-nominated director Joe Wright ("Atonement"), and that he cast his muse, Keira Knightley (an Oscar nominee herself) as the doomed heroine.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Knightley), Best Supporting Actor (Jude Law)

Pixar

'Brave'

After misfiring with the critically panned "Cars 2," Pixar looks to be back on track with "Brave," a sure-to-be stirring tale about a Scottish princess who sets out to undo a curse that could ruin her kingdom. If the trailer is anything to go by, this will be the animated film to beat come Oscars time.
Possible Nominations: Best Animated Feature

'
Cogan's Trade'

While Andrew Dominik's last film, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," didn't draw a crowd, it was a hit with the Academy, garnering two Academy Award nominations. His latest reunites the director with "Jesse James" star Brad Pitt for a crime story about a professional enforcer (Pitt) hired to investigate a mysterious heist. It sounds grim, but the talent behind the project is stellar.
Possible Nominations: Best Actor (Pitt)

Warner Bros.

'The Dark Knight Rises'

Fans cried foul when "The Dark Knight" wasn't nominated for Best Pictures despite critical approval, so chances are the Academy won't turn a blind eye this time around. With Christopher Nolan at the helm and all the regular players back, this final installment of the new Batman trilogy is destined to thrill. How can the Academy ignore Nolan & Co. this time around?
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Hardy)

'Django Unchained'

Quentin Tarantino has never been one to play it safe, and his latest, "Django Unchained," has the promise to be his most controversial work yet. Despite the Academy's aversion to controversy, it's been welcoming to Tarantino's films in the past, so chances are they'll embrace his new thriller. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx plays the titular hero who sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Foxx), Best Supporting Actor (DiCaprio)

'The Gangster Squad'

An Oscar contender from the director of "Zombieland"? By the looks of "The Gangster Squad," it seems likely. The proof lies in the casting. Director Ruben Fleischer has assembled one of the best ensembles in recent memory for his period crime picture. Among the cast members along for the ride: Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Josh Brolin and Giovanni Ribisi. The star power alone will no doubt impress.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone)

'Gravity'

Sci-fi is a genre the Academy usually ignores, but with Alfonso Cuaron ("Children of Men") at the helm and a cast fronted by George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, chances are the Academy will go against the grain this time around. "Gravity" stars Bullock as the lone survivor of a space mission gone wrong, who tries to return to Earth and reunite with her daughter.
Possible Nominations: Best Director, Best Actress (Bullock)

Warner Bros.

'The Great Gatsby'

Although Baz Luhrmann's last epic endeavor, "Australia," flopped, don't count the Australian auteur out of next year's race. If anyone's poised to do great things with a 3-D rethinking of "The Great Gatsby," Luhrmann's the guy. The director's grandiose style is perfectly suited to the classic tale, and so is the cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Actress (Mulligan), Best Supporting Actor (Maguire)

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

The Academy has rewarded each of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films with Best Picture nominations, and by the looks of this prequel, history will likely repeat itself. With Jackson back at the helm and Ian McKellen returning as Gandalf, "The Hobbit" is poised to do killer business and reap a slew of nominations.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (McKellen)

'Kill Bin Laden'

Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow follows up "The Hurt Locker" with another war film, this one about the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- talk about a match made in war-movie heaven.  Couple that with the cast Bigelow has assembled (Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton and Kyle Chandler), and "Kill Bin Laden" has the makings of a real contender.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay

Getty Images

'Les Miserables'

Let's face it, folks. If  "Les Miserables" is any good, it's the film to beat next year. For starters, it's a film adaptation of one of the most beloved musicals of all time. Did we mention it's directed by Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech"), stars two Oscar hosts (Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman), and features Oscar winner Russell Crowe belting his heart out?
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Crowe), Best Actor (Jackman), Best Supporting Actress (Hathaway)

'Life of Pi'

Director Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain") has long been a favorite among Academy voters, so look for his latest, an adaptation of the beloved best seller "Life of Pi," to earn a lot of recognition. The film's an ambitious one for Lee; it concerns an Indian zookeeper's son who finds himself stranded at sea with a group of zoo animals. If Lee pulls this off, "The Life of Pi" will be something truly special.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director

'Lincoln'

It's a well-known fact that when Steven Spielberg goes period on the Academy, he's rewarded with a nomination. His "Lincoln," which chronicles the life of our sixteenth president, will no doubt hit a soft spot with voters. And in Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, Spielberg couldn't have chosen a better actor to bring the icon to life.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field)

'The Master'

Anything from the mind of Paul Thomas Anderson ("There Will Be Blood") is bound to be great, so expect to hear a lot more about "The Master" as its release date nears. Anderson has assembled another great ensemble (Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Laura Dern) for a 1950s-set drama about an enigmatic cult leader. One thing's for sure -- Anderson knows how to stir the pot.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Phoenix), Best Supporting Actor (Hoffman), Best Supporting Actress (Adams)

'The Silver Linings Playbook'

Bad-boy director David O. Russell follows up his Oscar-winning crowd-pleaser "The Fighter" with something altogether different – a drama about a teacher (Bradley Cooper) with a troubled past who moves back in with his mother. Russell knows his way around actors ("The Fighter" netted Best Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor Oscars), so we can't wait to see what he wrings out of his new ensemble. Along for the ride with Cooper are Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Tucker.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Cooper)

Sundance Film Festival

'The Surrogate'

If Sundance buzz is anything to go by, then expect to see "The Surrogate" on the nominees list come next year. The moving drama stars Oscar nominee John Hawkes as a disabled man who hires a professional sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) to help him lose his virginity. The film premiered in Park City to rave reviews, with many critics saying it could be the indie to beat.
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Hawkes), Best Actress (Hunt)

'Trouble With the Curve'

The last time Clint Eastwood acted in a film he didn't direct was way back in 1989's "Pink Cadillac." The legend's got nothing left to prove, so he must have good reason for signing up to act opposite Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake in "Trouble with the Curve," a drama by first-time feature director Robert Lorenz. Eastwood stars an as an ailing baseball scout who takes his daughter (Adams) along for one last recruiting trip. How can the Academy resist?
Possible Nominations: Best Actor (Eastwood), Best Supporting Actress (Adams)

Getty Images

Hey guys, remember way, way back when we told you about Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie, the untitled religious drama that used be called "The Master?" It's okay if you don't recall; trust us, this morning seems like a long time ago to us as well. But now that we've all regrouped over lunch, we've got a new "Master" related bombshell to drop: Amy Adams is going to co-star in it.

According to indieWire, the three time Oscar nominee will be joining Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in what is shaping up to be a true all-star cast.

But you better read this fast, because at the rate they're going, the movie might be finished by the time you're done with this article.

Once left for dead, the movie formerly known as "The Master" has had a very abrupt rebirth this week, with Phoenix, Hoffman and Adams being joined by Laura Dern among others in Anderson's first film since "There Will Be Blood" won two Oscars and international praise four long years ago.

This time around, Anderson will be leaving the milkshake business behind for a story of religion, with Hoffman playing a WWII vet who comes back from the war and founds a weird religion not entirely unlike Scientology, with Phoenix set to play his alcoholic protege.

So where does Adams fit in? Well, according to indieWire, the acclaimed actress will be playing Hoffman's wife, a character described as his "caretaker and vigilant lieutenant" -- which sounds like just the right kind of role to follow up her "Fighter" success with.

Production is already set to begin in less than two weeks, which means that Adams won't have much time to prepare. But by the looks of things, she'll have plenty of time afterwards to get ready for her next role -- as a four time Oscar nominee.